Bible Readings for September 24, 2017

Today our passages are Isaiah 43:14–45:10; Ephesians 3:1-21; Psalm 68:1-18; and Proverbs 24:1-2. The readings are from the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Steet, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

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Isaiah 43:14-45:10 (Contemporary English Version)

The LORD Will Prepare the Way

 ¹⁴I, the LORD, will rescue you!

   I am Israel's holy God,

   and this is my promise:

   For your sake, I will send

   an army against Babylon

   to drag its people away,

   crying as they go. ^[a] ¹⁵I am the LORD, your holy God,

   Israel's Creator and King.

    ¹⁶I am the one who cut a path

   through the mighty ocean.

    ¹⁷I sent an army to chase you

   with chariots and horses;

   now they lie dead,

   unable to move.

   They are like an oil lamp

   with the flame snuffed out.

   

   

Forget the Past

The LORD said:

 ¹⁸Forget what happened long ago!

   Don't think about the past.

    ¹⁹I am creating something new.

   There it is! Do you see it?

   I have put roads in deserts,

   streams ^[b] in thirsty lands. ²⁰Every wild animal honors me,

   even jackals ^[c] and owls. I provide water in deserts--

   streams in thirsty lands

   for my chosen people.

    ²¹I made them my own nation,

   so they would praise me.

    ²²I, the LORD, said to Israel:

   You have become weary,

   but not from worshiping me.

    ²³You have not honored me

   by sacrificing sheep

   or other animals.

   And I have not burdened you

   with demands for sacrifices

   or sweet-smelling incense.

    ²⁴You have not brought

   delicious spices for me

   or given me the best part

   of your sacrificed animals.

   Instead, you burden me down

   with your terrible sins.

    ²⁵But I wipe away your sins

   because of who I am.

   And so, I will forget

   the wrongs you have done.

    ²⁶Meet me in court!

   State your case

   and prove

   that you are right.

    ²⁷Your earliest ancestor ^[d] and all of your leaders ^[e] rebelled against me.

    ²⁸That's why I don't allow

   your priests to serve me;

   I let Israel be destroyed

   and your people disgraced.

   

Isaiah 44

The LORD's Promise to Israel

 ¹People of Israel,

   I have chosen you

   as my servant.

    ²I am your Creator.

   You were in my care

   even before you were born.

   Israel, don't be terrified!

   You are my chosen servant,

   my very favorite. ^[f] ³I will bless the thirsty land

   by sending streams of water;

   I will bless your descendants

   by giving them my Spirit.

    ⁴They will spring up like grass ^[g] or like willow trees

   near flowing streams.

    ⁵They will worship me

   and become my people.

   They will write my name

   on the back of their hands. ^[h] ⁶I am the LORD All-Powerful,

   the first and the last,

   the one and only God.

   Israel, I have rescued you!

   I am your King.

    ⁷Can anyone compare with me?

   If so, let them speak up

   and tell me now.

   Let them say what has happened

   since I made my nation

   long ago,

   and let them tell

   what is going to happen. ^[i] ⁸Don't tremble with fear!

   Didn't I tell you long ago?

   Didn't you hear me?

   I alone am God--

   no one else is a mighty rock. ^[j]

   

Idols Can't Do a Thing

The LORD said:

 ⁹Those people who make idols

   are nothing themselves,

   and the idols they treasure

   are just as worthless.

   Worshipers of idols are blind,

   stupid, and foolish.

    ¹⁰Why make an idol or an image

   that can't do a thing?

    ¹¹Everyone who makes idols

   and all who worship them

   are mere humans,

   who will end up

   sadly disappointed.

   Let them face me in court

   and be terrified.

   

Idols and Firewood

 ¹²A metalworker shapes an idol

   by using a hammer ^[k] and heat from the fire.

   In his powerful hand

   he holds a hammer,

   as he pounds the metal

   into the proper shape.

   But he gets hungry and thirsty

   and loses his strength.

    ¹³Some woodcarver measures

   a piece of wood,

   then draws an outline.

   The idol is carefully carved

   with each detail exact.

   At last it looks like a person

   and is placed in a temple.

    ¹⁴Either cedar, cypress, oak,

   or any tree from the forest

   may be chosen.

   Or even a pine tree planted

   by the woodcarver

   and watered by the rain.

    ¹⁵Some of the wood is used

   to make a fire for heating

   or for cooking.

   One piece is made into an idol,

   then the woodcarver bows down

   and worships it.

    ¹⁶He enjoys the warm fire

   and the meat that was roasted

   over the burning coals.

    ¹⁷Afterwards, he bows down

   to worship the wooden idol.

   "Protect me!" he says.

   "You are my god."

    ¹⁸Those who worship idols are stupid and blind! ¹⁹They don't have enough sense to say to themselves, "I made a fire with half of the wood and cooked my bread and meat on it. Then I made something worthless with the other half. Why worship a block of wood?"

    ²⁰How can anyone be stupid enough to trust something that can be burned to ashes? ^[l] No one can save themselves like that. Don't they realize that the idols they hold in their hands are not really gods?

The LORD Won't Forget His People

 ²¹People of Israel,

   you are my servant,

   so remember all of this.

   Israel, I created you,

   and you are my servant.

   I won't forget you. ^[m] ²²Turn back to me!

   I have rescued you

   and swept away your sins

   as though they were clouds.

   

Sing Praises to the LORD

 ²³Tell the heavens and the earth

   to start singing!

   Tell the mountains

   and every tree in the forest

   to join in the song!

   The LORD has rescued his people;

   now they will worship him.

   

The LORD Created Everything

 ²⁴Israel, I am your LORD.

   I am your source of life,

   and I have rescued you.

   I created everything

   from the sky above

   to the earth below.

    ²⁵I make liars of false prophets

   and fools of fortunetellers.

   I take human wisdom

   and turn it into nonsense.

    ²⁶I will make the message

   of my prophets come true.

   They are saying, "Jerusalem

   will be filled with people,

   and the LORD will rebuild

   the towns of Judah."

    ²⁷I am the one who commands

   the sea and its streams

   to run dry.

    ²⁸I am also the one who says,

   "Cyrus will lead my people

   and obey my orders.

   Jerusalem and the temple

   will be rebuilt."

   

Isaiah 45

Cyrus Obeys the LORD's Commands

 ¹The LORD said to Cyrus, his chosen one:

   I have taken hold

   of your right hand

   to help you capture nations

   and remove kings from power.

   City gates will open for you;

   not one will stay closed.

    ²As I lead you,

   I will level mountains ^[n] and break the iron bars

   on bronze gates of cities.

    ³I will give you treasures

   hidden in dark

   and secret places.

   Then you will know that I,

   the LORD God of Israel,

   have called you by name.

    ⁴Cyrus, you don't even know me!

   But I have called you by name

   and highly honored you ^[o] because of Israel,

   my chosen servant.

    ⁵Only I am the LORD!

   There are no other gods.

   I have made you strong,

   though you don't know me.

    ⁶Now everyone from east to west

   will learn that I am the LORD.

   No other gods are real.

    ⁷I create light and darkness,

   happiness and sorrow.

   I, the LORD, do all of this.

    ⁸Tell the heavens

   to send down justice

   like showers of rain.

   Prepare the earth

   for my saving power

   to sprout

   and produce justice

   that I, the LORD, create. ^[p]

   

The LORD's Mighty Power

The LORD said:

 ⁹Israel, you have no right

   to argue with your Creator.

   You are merely a clay pot

   shaped by a potter.

   The clay doesn't ask,

   "Why did you make me this way?

   Where are the handles?"

    ¹⁰Children don't have the right

   to demand of their parents,

   "What have you done

   to make us what we are?"

   

Footnotes:

1. Isaiah 43:14 crying as they go: Or "in their glorious ships."
2. Isaiah 43:19 streams: The Standard Hebrew Text; the Dead Sea Scrolls "paths."
3. Isaiah 43:20 jackals: Desert animals related to wolves, but smaller.
4. Isaiah 43:27 earliest ancestor: Jacob, also known as Israel.
5. Isaiah 43:27 leaders: Probably prophets, but perhaps also priests and kings.
6. Isaiah 44:2 my very favorite: Or "Jeshurun."
7. Isaiah 44:4 like grass: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
8. Isaiah 44:5 write. . . hands: To show that they belong to the LORD and to Israel.
9. Isaiah 44:7 Let them say. . . happen: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
10. Isaiah 44:8 mighty rock: See the note at 17.10.
11. Isaiah 44:12 by using a hammer: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
12. Isaiah 44:20 How. . . ashes: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
13. Isaiah 44:21 I won't forget you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
14. Isaiah 45:2 mountains: The Dead Sea Scrolls and one ancient translation; the Standard Hebrew Text "rising waves."
15. Isaiah 45:4 But. . . you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
16. Isaiah 45:8 Prepare. . . create: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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Ephesians 3:1-21 (Contemporary English Version)

Ephesians 3

Paul's Mission to the Gentiles

 ¹Christ Jesus made me his prisoner, so that I could help you Gentiles. ²You have surely heard about God's kindness in choosing me to help you. ³In fact, this letter tells you a little about how God has shown me his mysterious ways. ⁴As you read the letter, you will also find out how well I really do understand the mystery about Christ. ⁵No one knew about this mystery until God's Spirit told it to his holy apostles and prophets. ⁶And the mystery is this: Because of Christ Jesus, the good news has given the Gentiles a share in the promises that God gave to the Jews. God has also let the Gentiles be part of the same body.

    ⁷God treated me with kindness. His power worked in me, and it became my job to spread the good news. ⁸I am the least important of all God's people. But God was kind and chose me to tell the Gentiles that because of Christ there are blessings that cannot be measured. ⁹God, who created everything, wanted me to help everyone understand the mysterious plan that had always been hidden in his mind. ¹⁰Then God would use the church to show the powers and authorities in the spiritual world that he has many different kinds of wisdom.

    ¹¹God did this according to his eternal plan. And he was able to do what he had planned because of all that Christ Jesus our Lord had done. ¹²Christ now gives us courage and confidence, so that we can come to God by faith. ¹³That's why you should not be discouraged when I suffer for you. After all, it will bring honor to you.

   

Christ's Love for Us

 ¹⁴I kneel in prayer to the Father. ¹⁵All beings in heaven and on earth receive their life from him. ^[a] ¹⁶God is wonderful and glorious. I pray that his Spirit will make you become strong followers ¹⁷and that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. Stand firm and be deeply rooted in his love. ¹⁸I pray that you and all of God's people will understand what is called wide or long or high or deep. ^[b] ¹⁹I want you to know all about Christ's love, although it is too wonderful to be measured. Then your lives will be filled with all that God is. ^20-21I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen.

   

Footnotes:

1. Ephesians 3:15 receive their life from him: Or know who they really are because of him.
2. Ephesians 3:18 what is called wide or long or high or deep: This may refer to the heavenly Jerusalem or to God's love or wisdom or to the meaning of the cross.

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Psalm 68:1-18 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 68

(A psalm and a song by David for the music leader.)

God Will Win the Battle

 ¹Do something, God!

   Scatter your hateful enemies.

   Make them turn and run.

    ²Scatter them like smoke!

   When you come near,

   make them melt

   like wax in a fire.

    ³But let your people be happy

   and celebrate because of you.

    ⁴Our God, you are the one

   who rides on the clouds,

   and we praise you.

   Your name is the LORD,

   and we celebrate

   as we worship you.

    ⁵Our God, from your sacred home

   you take care of orphans

   and protect widows.

    ⁶You find families

   for those who are lonely.

   You set prisoners free

   and let them prosper, ^[a] but all who rebel will live

   in a scorching desert.

    ⁷You set your people free,

   and you led them

   through the desert.

    ⁸God of Israel,

   the earth trembled,

   and rain poured down.

   You alone are the God

   who rules from Mount Sinai.

    ⁹When your land was thirsty,

   you sent showers

   to refresh it.

    ¹⁰Your people settled there,

   and you were generous

   to everyone in need.

    ¹¹You gave the command,

   and a chorus of women told

   what had happened:

    ¹²"Kings and their armies

   retreated and ran,

   and everything they left

   is now being divided.

    ¹³And for those who stayed back

   to guard the sheep,

   there are metal doves

   with silver-coated wings

   and shiny gold feathers."

    ¹⁴God All-Powerful, you scattered

   the kings

   like snow falling

   on Mount Zalmon. ^[b] ¹⁵Our LORD and our God,

   Bashan is a mighty mountain

   covered with peaks.

    ¹⁶Why is it jealous of Zion,

   the mountain you chose

   as your home forever?

    ¹⁷When you, LORD God, appeared

   to your people ^[c] at Sinai, you came with thousands

   of mighty chariots.

    ¹⁸When you climbed

   the high mountain,

   you took prisoners with you

   and were given gifts.

   Your enemies didn't want you

   to live there,

   but they gave you gifts.

   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 68:6 and let them prosper: Or " and give them a song."
2. Psalm 68:14 Mount Zalmon: The location of this mountain is not known.
3. Psalm 68:17 to your people: Or " in all your holiness" or " in your holy place."

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Proverbs 24:1-2 (Contemporary English Version)

Proverbs 24

-19-

 ¹ Don't be jealous of crooks

   or want to be their friends.

    ²All they think about

   and talk about

   is violence and cruelty.

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Verse of the Day

“Keep on being brave! It will bring you great rewards. Learn to be patient, so that you will please God and be given what he has promised.” - Hebrews 10:35-36

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

English art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and Whig politician, Horace Walpole wrote, “The world is a comedy to those that think; a tragedy to those that feel.”

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A Joke for Today

One night, a wife found her husband standing over their baby’s crib. Silently she watched him.

As he stood looking down at the sleeping infant, she saw on his face a mixture of emotions: disbelief, doubt, delight, amazement, enchantment, even skepticism.

Touched by this unusual display and the deep emotions it aroused, with eyes glistening she slipped her arm around her husband. “A penny for your thoughts,” she said.

“It’s amazing!” he replied. “I just can’t see how anybody can make a crib like that for only $67.50.”

Bible Readings for October 23, 2014

Today our passages are Jeremiah 42:1–44:23; 2 Timothy 2:1-21; Psalm 92:1–93:5; and Proverbs 26:3-5. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson.

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Jeremiah 42-44:23 (The Message)

Jeremiah 42

What You Fear Will Catch Up with You

 ^1-3 All the army officers, led by Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, accompanied by all the people, small and great, came to Jeremiah the prophet and said, "We have a request. Please listen. Pray to your God for us, what's left of us. You can see for yourself how few we are! Pray that your God will tell us the way we should go and what we should do."  ⁴Jeremiah the prophet said, "I hear your request. And I will pray to your God as you have asked. Whatever God says, I'll pass on to you. I'll tell you everything, holding nothing back."
 ^5-6They said to Jeremiah, "Let God be our witness, a true and faithful witness against us, if we don't do everything that your God directs you to tell us. Whether we like it or not, we'll do it. We'll obey whatever our God tells us. Yes, count on us. We'll do it."
 ^7-8Ten days later God's Message came to Jeremiah. He called together Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers with him, including all the people, regardless of how much clout they had.
 ^9-12He then spoke: "This is the Message from God, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your prayer. He says, 'If you are ready to stick it out in this land, I will build you up and not drag you down, I will plant you and not pull you up like a weed. I feel deep compassion on account of the doom I have visited on you. You don't have to fear the king of Babylon. Your fears are for nothing. I'm on your side, ready to save and deliver you from anything he might do. I'll pour mercy on you. What's more, he will show you mercy! He'll let you come back to your very own land.'
 ^13-17"But do not say, 'We're not staying around this place,' refusing to obey the command of your God and saying instead, 'No! We're off to Egypt, where things are peaceful—no wars, no attacking armies, plenty of food. We're going to live there.' If what's left of Judah is headed down that road, then listen to God's Message. This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies says: 'If you have determined to go to Egypt and make that your home, then the very wars you fear will catch up with you in Egypt and the starvation you dread will track you down in Egypt. You'll die there! Every last one of you who is determined to go to Egypt and make it your home will either be killed, starve, or get sick and die. No survivors, not one! No one will escape the doom that I'll bring upon you.'
 ¹⁸"This is the Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: 'In the same way that I swept the citizens of Jerusalem away with my anger and wrath, I'll do the same thing all over again in Egypt. You'll end up being cursed, reviled, ridiculed, and mocked. And you'll never see your homeland again.'
 ^19-20"God has plainly told you, you leftovers from Judah, 'Don't go to Egypt.' Could anything be plainer? I warn you this day that you are living out a fantasy. You're making a fatal mistake.
   "Didn't you just now send me to your God, saying, 'Pray for us to our God. Tell us everything that God says and we'll do it all'?
 ^21-22"Well, now I've told you, told you everything he said, and you haven't obeyed a word of it, not a single word of what your God sent me to tell you. So now let me tell you what will happen next: You'll be killed, you'll starve to death, you'll get sick and die in the wonderful country where you've determined to go and live."

Jeremiah 43

Death! Exile! Slaughter!

 ^1-3 When Jeremiah finished telling all the people the whole Message that their God had sent him to give them—all these words—Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah, backed by all the self-important men, said to Jeremiah, "Liar! Our God never sent you with this message telling us not to go to Egypt and live there. Baruch son of Neriah is behind this. He has turned you against us. He's playing into the hands of the Babylonians so we'll either end up being killed or taken off to exile in Babylon."  ⁴Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers, and the people along with them, wouldn't listen to God's Message that they stay in the land of Judah and live there.
 ^5-7Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers gathered up everyone who was left from Judah, who had come back after being scattered all over the place—the men, women, and children, the king's daughters, all the people that Nebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard had left in the care of Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and last but not least, Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah. They entered the land of Egypt in total disobedience of God's Message and arrived at the city of Tahpanhes.
 ^8-9While in Tahpanhes, God's Word came to Jeremiah: "Pick up some large stones and cover them with mortar in the vicinity of the pavement that leads up to the building set aside for Pharaoh's use in Tahpanhes. Make sure some of the men of Judah are watching.
 ^10-13"Then address them: 'This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies says: Be on the lookout! I'm sending for and bringing Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon—my servant, mind you!—and he'll set up his throne on these very stones that I've had buried here and he'll spread out his canopy over them. He'll come and absolutely smash Egypt, sending each to his assigned fate: death, exile, slaughter. He'll burn down the temples of Egypt's gods. He'll either burn up the gods or haul them off as booty. Like a shepherd who picks lice from his robes, he'll pick Egypt clean. And then he'll walk away without a hand being laid on him. He'll shatter the sacred obelisks at Egypt's House of the Sun and make a huge bonfire of the temples of Egypt's gods.'"

Jeremiah 44

The Same Fate Will Fall upon All

 ^1-6 The Message that Jeremiah received for all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, who had their homes in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph, and the land of Pathros: "This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says: 'You saw with your own eyes the terrible doom that I brought down on Jerusalem and the Judean cities. Look at what's left: ghost towns of rubble and smoking ruins, and all because they took up with evil ways, making me angry by going off to offer sacrifices and worship the latest in gods—no-gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors knew the first thing about. Morning after morning and long into the night I kept after you, sending you all those prophets, my servants, begging you, "Please, please—don't do this, don't fool around in this loathsome gutter of gods that I hate with a passion." But do you think anyone paid the least bit of attention or repented of evil or quit offering sacrifices to the no-gods? Not one. So I let loose with my anger, a firestorm of wrath in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, and left them in ruins and wasted. And they're still in ruins and wasted.'  ^7-8"This is the Message of God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: 'So why are you ruining your lives by amputating yourselves—man, woman, child, and baby—from the life of Judah, leaving yourselves isolated, unconnected? And why do you deliberately make me angry by what you do, offering sacrifices to these no-gods in the land of Egypt where you've come to live? You'll only destroy yourselves and make yourselves an example used in curses and an object of ridicule among all the nations of the earth.
 ^9-11"'Have you so soon forgotten the evil lives of your ancestors, the evil lives of the kings of Judah and their wives, to say nothing of your own evil lives, you and your wives, the evil you flaunted in the land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem? And to this day, there's not a trace of remorse, not a sign of reverence, nobody caring about living by what I tell them or following my instructions that I've set out so plainly before you and your parents! So this is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies decrees:
 ^11-14"'Watch out! I've decided to bring doom on you and get rid of everyone connected with Judah. I'm going to take what's left of Judah, those who have decided to go to Egypt and live there, and finish them off. In Egypt they will either be killed or starve to death. The same fate will fall upon both the obscure and the important. Regardless of their status, they will either be killed or starve. You'll end up cursed, reviled, ridiculed, and mocked. I'll give those who are in Egypt the same medicine I gave those in Jerusalem: massacre, starvation, and disease. None of those who managed to get out of Judah alive and get away to Egypt are going to make it back to the Judah for which they're so homesick. None will make it back, except maybe a few fugitives.'"

Making Goddess Cookies

 ^15-18The men who knew that their wives had been burning sacrifices to the no-gods, joined by a large crowd of women, along with virtually everyone living in Pathros of Egypt, answered Jeremiah: "We're having nothing to do with what you tell us is God's Message. We're going to go right on offering sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, keeping up the traditions set by our ancestors, our kings and government leaders in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem in the good old days. We had a good life then—lots of food, rising standard of living, and no bad luck. But the moment we quit sacrificing to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out offerings to her, everything fell apart. We've had nothing but massacres and starvation ever since."  ¹⁹And then the women chimed in: "Yes! Absolutely! We're going to keep at it, offering sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out offerings to her. Aren't our husbands behind us? They like it that we make goddess cookies and pour out our offerings to her."
 ^20-23Then Jeremiah spoke up, confronting the men and the women, all the people who had answered so insolently. He said, "The sacrifices that you and your parents, your kings, your government officials, and the common people of the land offered up in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem—don't you think God noticed? He noticed, all right. And he got fed up. Finally, he couldn't take your evil behavior and your disgusting acts any longer. Your land became a wasteland, a death valley, a horror story, a ghost town. And it continues to be just that. This doom has come upon you because you kept offering all those sacrifices, and you sinned against God! You refused to listen to him, wouldn't live the way he directed, ignored the covenant conditions."

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2 Timothy 2:1-21 (The Message)

2 Timothy 2

Doing Your Best for God

 ^1-7So, my son, throw yourself into this work for Christ. Pass on what you heard from me—the whole congregation saying Amen!— to reliable leaders who are competent to teach others. When the going gets rough, take it on the chin with the rest of us, the way Jesus did. A soldier on duty doesn't get caught up in making deals at the marketplace. He concentrates on carrying out orders. An athlete who refuses to play by the rules will never get anywhere. It's the diligent farmer who gets the produce. Think it over. God will make it all plain.  ^8-13Fix this picture firmly in your mind: Jesus, descended from the line of David, raised from the dead. It's what you've heard from me all along. It's what I'm sitting in jail for right now—but God's Word isn't in jail! That's why I stick it out here—so that everyone God calls will get in on the salvation of Christ in all its glory. This is a sure thing:

   If we die with him, we'll live with him;
   If we stick it out with him, we'll rule with him;
   If we turn our backs on him, he'll turn his back on us;
   If we give up on him, he does not give up—
      for there's no way he can be false to himself.
 ^14-18Repeat these basic essentials over and over to God's people. Warn them before God against pious nitpicking, which chips away at the faith. It just wears everyone out. Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won't be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple. Stay clear of pious talk that is only talk. Words are not mere words, you know. If they're not backed by a godly life, they accumulate as poison in the soul. Hymenaeus and Philetus are examples, throwing believers off stride and missing the truth by a mile by saying the resurrection is over and done with.
 ¹⁹Meanwhile, God's firm foundation is as firm as ever, these sentences engraved on the stones:

   god knows who belongs to him.
   spurn evil, all you who name god as god.
 ^20-21In a well-furnished kitchen there are not only crystal goblets and silver platters, but waste cans and compost buckets—some containers used to serve fine meals, others to take out the garbage. Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing.

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Psalm 92-93:5 (The Message)

Psalm 92

A Sabbath Song

 ^1-3 What a beautiful thing, God, to give thanks, to sing an anthem to you, the High God!
   To announce your love each daybreak,
      sing your faithful presence all through the night,
   Accompanied by dulcimer and harp,
      the full-bodied music of strings.

 ^4-9 You made me so happy, God
      I saw your work and I shouted for joy.
   How magnificent your work, God!
      How profound your thoughts!
   Dullards never notice what you do;
      fools never do get it.
   When the wicked popped up like weeds
      and all the evil men and women took over,
   You mowed them down,
      finished them off once and for all.
   You, God, are High and Eternal.
      Look at your enemies, God!
   Look at your enemies—ruined!
      Scattered to the winds, all those hirelings of evil!

 ^10-14 But you've made me strong as a charging bison,
      you've honored me with a festive parade.
   The sight of my critics going down is still fresh,
      the rout of my malicious detractors.
   My ears are filled with the sounds of promise:
      "Good people will prosper like palm trees,
   Grow tall like Lebanon cedars;
      transplanted to God's courtyard,
   They'll grow tall in the presence of God,
      lithe and green, virile still in old age."

 ¹⁵ Such witnesses to upright God!
      My Mountain, my huge, holy Mountain!

Psalm 93

    God is King, robed and ruling, God is robed and surging with strength.
         And yes, the world is firm, immovable,
      Your throne ever firm—you're Eternal!

 ^3-4 Sea storms are up, God,
   Sea storms wild and roaring,
   Sea storms with thunderous breakers.
      Stronger than wild sea storms,
      Mightier than sea-storm breakers,
      Mighty God rules from High Heaven.

 ⁵ What you say goes—it always has.
   "Beauty" and "Holy" mark your palace rule,
   God, to the very end of time.

 

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Proverbs 26:3-5 (The Message)

 ³ A whip for the racehorse, a tiller for the sailboat—
   and a stick for the back of fools!

 ⁴ Don't respond to the stupidity of a fool;
   you'll only look foolish yourself.

 ⁵ Answer a fool in simple terms
   so he doesn't get a swelled head.

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Verse of the Day

“You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand.” - Galatians 6:2

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

English art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and Whig politician, Horace Walpole wrote, “The whole secret of life is to be interested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand things well.”